"Sorry to drop by your place at such short notice, but I've got some things to discuss. It's about your son, and it may well extend to your daughter as well." Ray said calmly as he sipped his warm cup of tea. A middle-aged man, whose appearance reflects the countless battles he's been through, replied, "Ah, it's actually more of an honour for me, having one of the 10 Saints drop by my place for a chat. What do you wish to discuss about Kai?"

Ray said with a serious tone, "Arkad, do you know that Kai has awakened his Luminos? It shouldn't come as a surprise to you, he is Charissa's son after all." Arkad appeared stunned momentarily before regaining his composure soon after, answering, "Kai has never mentioned anything to me of such sorts. Could it be that he's unaware of his power?"

Ray took another sip of his tea and remarked, "You're most probably right. His power is…unique. However, if not managed properly, it could have severe repercussions. Can you entrust your son to me, Arkad, no, I should say, Master Silver Wolf? I wish to supervise his training."

Arkad laughed heartily and said, "It's been so many years since anyone referred to me by that accolade. Back then, you were still a brat and I supervised your weapon training on your father's instructions. Back to the topic, how do you intend to work on his Luminos? You're not a Luminos wielder yourself."

Ray smiled as he took another sip of his tea, "I've found another Luminos wielder in this city. Kai can learn the activation process from her. I'm only there to help him fine-tune his abilities including his magic." Arkad expressed shock as he demanded, "There's another Sylph in this city? Who is it?"

Ray answered coldly, "I've to protect her identity, sorry, Arkad. Nirvania might have a pro-Sylph stance, but there are still shady elements in this country that think otherwise." Arkad calmed himself down and said, "You're right. It's not good for too much attention to be showered on the Sylphs. After all, we've yet to make formal diplomatic contact with their representatives."

Ray finished his cup of tea and stood up, "This was a good cup of tea. Anyway, I assume that you've granted me permission to train your boy just like you did for me 12 years ago. See ya!" The moment Ray left the house, he disappeared in a blur. Arkad chuckled, "I wonder if he has ever crashed into anything by moving that fast. Kai, your road down the line is only going to get steeper…"

Kai was suffering from information overload. On one hand, he now knew Adeline's secret identity as a Sylph, which helped him understand her reaction to History class then. On the other hand, he just learnt from Shen that they were actually rescued by the S-Rank group, Saint Cross. Kai felt that Shen was being over-hyped with regard to encountering Saint Cross and even felt that he was audacious for daring to request lessons from S-Ranked adventurers.

Right now, all Kai wanted was for a peaceful return to his routine school life. No more adventures for the time being, he was already traumatised by his encounter with the mad researcher Jaeger. At least the Adventurers' Association had a conscience by offering a compensation amount much higher than the reward stated initially for their potentially fatal blunder.

As Kai started walking out of school, he deliberated on how he would spend his share of the reward. Maybe he should buy a new dress for Yuri? He was interrupted from his thoughts by a gentle voice. "Shall we go home together?" Adeline spoke softly. Kai nodded his head in agreement as the pair walked towards the school gates.

There, they noticed a large crowd gathering. Kai wondered what was going on, but felt that whoever it was, he/she was being a nuisance for obstructing the gate. Kai overheard a few excited students chattering among themselves, "It's a member of the 10 Saints! The Lightning Saint, Ray!" a boy said excitedly. His female companion squealed, "He's also the youngest Saint at age 24. So young, charming and strong!"

Kai was getting steadily frustrated. "Who cares about one pretty boy idol? The crowd that he's attracting is blocking my way home!" Kai thought angrily as he held onto Adeline's hand tightly, not wanting to lose her as he forced his way through the crowd.

Adeline blushed slightly when she felt her hand gripped tightly by Kai. She knew that she can never repay her debt to Kai for saving her life not once, but twice. All she knew now was that when her mission was completed and peace between the Sylph Kingdom and Nirvania ensues, she desired to return here to be together with Kai.

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When Kai had successfully pushed and shoved his way out of the crowd, he saw a young man with short, neat black hair signing autographs for the students that surrounded him. When their eyes locked with one another, the young man suddenly stopped signing autographs and apologised profusely, "Sorry everyone, but the person I'm waiting for is finally here. I've got official business to handle, so until then, may we meet again!"

The young man walked away with cries of dismay behind him. To Kai's surprise, the young man actually walked towards him! Kai snapped, "Is anything the matter? What can I do for a pretty boy Saint like yourself?"

A girl from the crowd shouted, "What an insolent brat! How dare he speak to Ray in such a condescending manner!" Another boy shouted, "Yeah! This guy doesn't even know who he's messing around with. Ray's not the #1 ranked adventurer for no reason! Show him who's boss, Ray!"

Ray turned around and smiled to the crowd, "Now, now. There's no need to flare up over such a petty matter like this. He's still young and rash, like I was when I was his age. Anyway, could you guys please leave us for the time being? I did say that I'm here for official business."

Suddenly, a wave of hostility spread through the crowd. In fear, the crowd immediately dispersed. Kai wondered what had happened, as he was certain that the spell [Dread] wasn't invoked since he couldn't sense any Dark magic lingering around Ray.

Adeline commented, "This is the true power of a Saint…being able to intimidate those around him with just his killing intent mixed with a little mana exertion." Ray laughed, "Hahaha, you're insightful indeed, Adeline! I guess that's expected of you after all, since you belong to a race more innately talented in magic than us humans."

Adeline expressed surprise and she stammered, "H-How did you know my name? Not to mention my true identity?" Ray answered with a Cheshire grin, "I'm the one who rescued you 2 from the cave together with my 2nd in command when you both were unconscious. I'm the leader of Saint Cross after all."

This time, it was Kai's turn to be stunned. He said, "You're the leader of the group that rescued my friends? What exactly do you want from us?" Ray answered cheerfully, "Nothing much. I only wish to raise your abilities to the next level as your teacher, just as your father had done for me. After all, your Luminos needs work."

Kai gave a puzzled expression, "Luminos? My father was your teacher?" Ray replied, "That was many years ago when I was still a kid. Anyway, you've no idea what a Luminos is or you didn't know that you had exhibited a Luminos-related Enigma Ability back in the cave when you were fighting Jaeger?"

Kai scratched his chin as he tried to recall the events which transpired with Jaeger, before realising something. He shouted angrily, "If you know so much about what happened between me and Jaeger, that means you were around then! Why didn't you intervene, great Saint? Adeline could've got killed by your actions!"

Ray chuckled and said, "Well, you sound exactly like Frost, my 2nd in command. True, it was irresponsible as an adult to let kids deal with dangerous guys like Jaeger. However, I believe that true power can only be drawn in times of desperation. I wanted to see if you had anything special within you and boy, I wasn't disappointed. Your Luminos Ability may be a world changer, mind you. Do you agree, Adeline? I believe you would have known of this longer than me. After all, this is not the first time he used his Luminos Ability."

Adeline nodded, saying, "Yes, Kai, you do indeed possess a Luminos Ability for some unknown reasons despite not being a full Sylph. If I were to give it a name like how I named mine [Perfect State], yours would be [Erase], since you practically erase the mana of everything around you, be it in spells, techniques or even living things."

Kai was absolutely stupefied. He said, "I had such an ability all this time…I didn't realise it when I killed Jaeger with such ease. Now that you mention it, I did hear him murmur that he ran out of mana."

Adeline turned sharply to face Ray, "What's your deal with me then? Are you going to threaten me with your knowledge of my identity to make me do your bidding? I'm telling you, there's no way I'm going to betray my people, I'd rather die!"

Ray carried an amiable smile as he replied, "Nothing of that sort, Adeline. I understand the importance of maintaining secrecy for your race. All I want from you is for you to help Kai learn how to activate his Luminos at will. I may be able to teach him how to control its powers, but I can't teach him how to activate it at will since I'm not a Luminos wielder myself. In return, I'll help you with your abilities as well. After all, your [Perfect State] isn't that perfect right?"

Adeline thought deeply before she replied, "Very well. I admit that after that run-in with Jaeger, I have a long way to go. Since I'm helping Kai out and not you, I agree to your deal."

Ray clapped his hands and exclaimed, "Great! Then it's settled! You 2 are officially my students from now on! Meet me after school at the top of Jade Hill from tomorrow onwards daily for your training. I'm going to work you guys to the bone, but you'll thank me at the end of the day when you see results, hahaha! See ya!"

Ray then disappeared in a blur. Kai sighed, "Having a crazy nutcase as my master, wonder what's going to happen to me now…" He suddenly had a flashback of his fight with Jaeger and muttered, "If it means becoming stronger to protect my loved ones from ever getting hurt again, I'll go through even Hell to achieve my goal!"

As Kai clenched his fists tightly, Adeline watched on in concern. She knew that both of them were still too weak as compared to the superpowers that govern this world. However, taking one step at a time, she was confident that they would reach the summit one day…